Neon sign



c, W. M O In e m .u v, w r n /d/ A W r m z ,L 3M e Pw. /o l f I 9 e f s2 I w n 2` la ,QV 5 M .r .7 H u a m IHM ,w r 5 la w. n f. 7 W. J

E. S. WOOLRICH NEON SIGN Filed Sept. 22. 1928 Oct. 13, 1931.

gf The invention has for and particularly to small si Patented ocr. is,193.1

UNI-TED -s'lvafrrzs; PATENT oFFlcr;

EDWARD S. WOOLRICH, OF CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OHIO, ASSIGIiNOR, IBY MESNEASSIGN MENTS, TO FLEXLUME CORPORATION, OF TONAWANDA, NEW'YORK, ACORPORA- TION OF NEW YORK NnoN sien Application led September 22, 192B.ySerial No. 307,686..

This invention relates to neon tube signs s adapted to be mounted overdoorways, w1ndows and the like.

a sign which is portable, which can be quickly set up in any desiredlocation and which can be quickly and easily dismantled for purposes oftransportation or repair.

A' further object is to provide a neon tube sign in which the neon tubecan be quickly' and easily attached to or detached from its support topermit signs to be changed when desired.

A further object is to'provide a supporting member for a neon tube signwhich is adapted for mounting on a wall bracket.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention may be said tocomprise the sign as illustrated in the accompanying drawingshereinafter described and particularly set forth in the appended claims,to-

gether with such variations and modifications thereof as will beapparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention appertains.

Reference should be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing t'he sign of the presentinventionv mounted ad]a cent a doorway.'

Fig. 2 is a; longitudinal section through the casing from which the signis supported.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line indi-l,

`cated at 3--3 in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the sign supporting casing.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, the sign support is in the formof an elongated box or casing 1 which has a top plate 2 formed ofsuitable insulating material and side walls 3 which may be formed ofsheet metal and which are provided at their upper edges with grooves 4which slidably receive the top plate 2. The bottom of the casing isclosed by detachable plates 5 which are held in place by screws 6. Thesupporting box or casing 1 1s adapted to be secured to the under side ofthe outwardly projectingv arm-of an angle bracket 7 attached to a walladjacent a doorway or window as shown in its object to provide'therefrom, the arms of each pair having out- Current is delivered fromthe transformer 8 to the-neon tube sign through wires 13 and 14 whichextend from the transformer to sockets 15 which are attached by screws16 to the under side of the top plate 2 adjacent the opposite endsthereof.V Each of the sock ets 15 has pairs of oppositely disposedspring contact arms 17 extending downwardly wardly Haring lower ends 18and opposed concave faces 19 which are adapted to grip .cylindricalelectrodes 20ywhich are attachedto the end portions 21 of the neon tubesand which'also serve as contact terminals.

The sign may be formed by a singleneontube as shown in Fig. 1 or aplurality of tubes may be employed as shown in Fig. 2, the tube or tubesin either case having a luminous portion 22 intermediate the endsthereof bent to form a si In case a plusockets 23 identical with the endsockets 15 are employed to receive the inner ends of the neon tubes, andthe intermediate sockets are connected by a wire 24 so that the neontubes are'conne'cted in series. The endportions 21 of the tubes extendlaterally from the sign :rality of `tubes are emp oyed intermediate fportion thereof in the plane of the sign' for a suiiicient distance to'space the si s below the bottom of the su porting casing -1 and at theirupper ends, t e supporting portions 21 are bent inwardly and havethecy1""'fdri cal electrodes 20 attached theretoi-f'f'i l It will be aparent that a neon tub ef. can

be quickly an easily inserted inthe sockets by pressing the electrodes20 between the spring contact arms 17 and that thev tubes may be readilydetached from the sockets by pulling the electrodes 20 downwardly. The

bottom plates 5 have suitable apertures 25 throu h which the uprightportions 21 of the tu es extend and it will be apparent that a neon tubesign can be quickly and easily detached from its supp-ort and replacedby a different neon tube sign. The mountin of thesign supporting casingupon a wall is a very simple matter since it is only necessary to attachthe base plate 2 to the outwardly projecting arm of a suitable wallbracket and the electrical connections for the sign, may be uickly madeby means of an extension cor Lemert extending through the bottom wall,the up er ends of said'upright portions being bent aterally and havingcontact terminals attached thereto, spaced .socketsV attached to theunder side of the top'wall of the casin to receive said terminals andsupport sai sign, and means for supplying current to said tube throughsaid sockets. l

ln testimon whereof I affix m signature. vEWARD S. WO LRICH.

Furthermore it is to be understoodthat l the particular form of aparatus shown and l described, and the particular procedure set forth,are resented for purposes of explanation and illustration and thatvarious modications of said apparatus and procedure can be made withoutdeparting from my invention as deined in the appended claims.

What l claim is:

l. A neon'tube si comprising a casing, a transformer in sai casing,sockets in said casing having opposed spring contact jaws adapted to camp a cylindrical member loe-- tween them and connected with saidtransformer, and a neon tube having upright end portions and anintermediate portion beneath the casing bent to form a sign, each end ofsaid tube having a laterally pro'ecting contact terminal of cylindricalcrm clamped between the contact jaws of a socket.

2. A neon tube sign comprisin an elongated casing having a top wall an abottom wall, a transformer in the 4casing attached to said top wall,longitudinally spaced sockets mounted on the under side of the top wall,each 4socket comprising a pain of o posed spring contact jaws, a neontube sign having upright end portions extending through the bottom wallwhich are bent laterally at their upper ends and an intermediate signportionI beneath thev bottom wall, and contact terminals carried bythe uper ends of the tubes,

and clamped by .sai jaws, and means for delivering current through saidsockets from the transformer to the tube.

3. A neon tube sign comprising a supporting member having a pair ofsockets each t adapted to composed of spaced spring contact jaws havingopposed concave faces, a neon tube having upright end portions and anintermediate ortion bent to form a sign, the outer ends of said uprightportions being bent laterally and having contact terminals j e clampedetween the spring contacts of said sockets, and means for supplyingAcurrent to said tube through said 4. A neon tube sign comprising acasing having a top wall andra bottom wall, a neon tube si having anintermediate sign portion ybeneat the casing and upright end portionsioc

